Hey, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Only two more to go after this one!
"Please Kurt," Finn asked, holding his hands together in front of him, pleading with Kurt to say yes, "It will be fun!"
Kurt raised his eyebrows, "Fun? I don't think so."
"Oh come on, she loves you," Finn reasoned, "It'll be a perfect time for you to bond."
Kurt scoffed. He knew all about bonding with Annabelle. Over the past year, Kurt had not only been exposed to more of James' antics, from him throwing objects to actually pulling off pranks against Kurt, but he had also had to endure the lovely tantrums of one Annabelle Hudson.
"Finn, her idea of bonding only ends with me wounded, both physically and emotionally mind you, and her wailing as if I personally victimised her."
"She is one year old, Kurt, and I'm sure Blaine will be there to help," Finn said and Kurt could practically hear his grin through the phone, "It'll be good practice for you both!"
Kurt choked on air, "Finn, we've been together for a year, we're not even married. Kids are the last thing on our minds."
There was a sigh on the other end of the phone and Kurt felt a little guilty, but in his defence he had every right to say no. Annabelle had it in for him, he was sure of it. "Please Kurt, I...I just, I really want you and her to bond. You know, uncle and niece."
Kurt may be adamant that he and Annabelle, or any child, are going to get along, but there was no way he could say no to Finn now. "Okay, I'll do it."
Finn whooped on the other end of the phone, "Thank-you so much, Kurt. You will have a great time, I promise you."
Blaine was lounging on his bed, holding a book above his head as he read. His arms were starting to tire from holding them up so long, but he couldn't take his eyes off the words on the page long enough to turn to his stomach.
His moment of peace was shattered when his phone blared from the end of his bed. He glared for a whole of two seconds until he recognised it as the ringtone he had programmed for Kurt and instead dived for his phone.
He answered with a cheery, "Hey you!"
"You, Blaine Devon Anderson, are so dead!" Kurt's voice gritted through the phone.
Blaine cringed. He didn't think he had done anything to upset Kurt. "I'm scared to ask why?"
Kurt grumbled and whined, which made him sound like a pre-pubescent teen, "You jinxed me."
"Jinxed you?" Blaine asked, confused. He would have remembered jinxing someone, especially Kurt because he was smart and it was always a triumph beating him at something.
"Yes, you jinxed me," Kurt huffed, "The day you and I had our first kiss, you said you hope that Rachel desperately needs me to babysit, well guess who just got asked to babysit for a week?"
Blaine frowned and went to respond but Kurt kept talking, "I don't even understand what was going through Finn's head when he thought, oh why don't I ask my brother who sucks at taking care of children to babysit my daughter?"
"I know you want my support on this, but I think it will be good for you."
"Really Blaine?" Kurt dead-panned, "You honestly believe that?"
Blaine grimaced a little, having being around Kurt and James at the same time, Blaine knew first hand what Kurt was like with kids. "Well, okay I admit it might be a...hurdle, but she's your niece, you'll regret it if you don't make the most of it."
"Yeah I know," Kurt sighed, "I better go, I've got a bit more work to get through today."
"When will you be home?"
"I shouldn't be too long, maybe an hour."
Blaine smiled, "I'll see you then."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
When Kurt got home, he found Blaine in the kitchen, standing at the stove. He was stirring something in a frying pan and Kurt breathed in the smell of garlic and basil. "Hey you." He dumped his bags on the floor in front of the bench and walked around the kitchen island.
"Hello," Kurt stood behind Blaine and wrapped his arms around Blaine's waist. He hooked his chin over Blaine's shoulder and pressed a kiss to his neck, "This smells good."
Blaine turned his head around a little a pressed a light kiss to Kurt's cheek, "It's almost done, are you hungry?"
"Starving," Kurt groaned, "I'll set the table."
"Hey no, you sit down and relax."
Kurt protested but Blaine just glared at him and pointed to the table. He pulled a glass from the cabinet and poured a glass of wine then took it over to Kurt.
"Thank-you," Kurt smiled, "What did I do to deserve you?"
Blaine chuckled, leant down and kissed Kurt gently, giving him an affectionate smile instead of answering.
Ten minutes later, Blaine was plating up their dinner – creamy basil and chicken pasta with bacon. He asked Kurt questions about his day at work, how his newest project was going, but Kurt's mind seemed occupied. He answered, but not with his usual enthusiasm, and kept trailing off before finishing a sentence.
"Kurt, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Kurt said, not looking up from his plate.
Blaine watched him curiously for a moment, the way Kurt stabbed his fork at the pasta, missing what was left on his plate completely because he wasn't actually looking at the plate. "No you're not."
Kurt's fork dropped to his plate, clattering loudly in the otherwise silent kitchen. "Um, sorry. Slipped..from my fingers."
"Kurt, talk to me."
He shook his head, shutting Blaine out, "I told you I'm fine."
Blaine sighed and leant over the table to take Kurt's hand in his own, "I know you're not," he rubbed his fingers along the back of Kurt's hand, "Is this about Annabelle?"
Kurt snatched his hand back, "Nothing is wrong, I'm fine!" He looked up at Blaine, who had recoiled slightly when Kurt snapped, and sighed, eyes apologetic. He rubbed his hands over his face before leaving the kitchen. Blaine took a deep and calming breath when he heard the door to their bedroom close.
He took his time picking up their dinner plates and cleaning up the kitchen, giving Kurt time to cool off and relax before they talked again. By the time he had washed the dishes, put all the food away and wiped down the benches, half and hour had passed and Blaine thought that was enough time.
He found Kurt in their room, sitting cross-legged on the floor at the foot of the bed. Kurt didn't look up when Blaine walked in, just continued staring at his hands that were clutching a small, pink teddy.
Blaine sat down next to him and crossed his legs too. They sat in silence for a few minutes, both of them staring ahead at the open door until Kurt spoke, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Blaine said quietly.
"No, it's not," Kurt looked back down at the teddy, "What if I can't do it?"
Blaine turned his head to the side and glanced down at the teddy; it was one of Annabelle's, one she wouldn't miss. "But you will, Kurt."
"But what if I can't, what then?" Kurt faced Blaine, "I'm scared, Blaine. I've never seriously considered being a father, but if I can't even take care of my own niece, then how am I supposed to raise a son or a daughter?"
Hearing Kurt talk about children, his own children, it felt overwhelming, surreal. They had never mentioned kids before, not in this way, not in any real way, but that was because they had never thought about children before. Blaine didn't want to let Kurt's words give him hope for something they may never have, but now that it was on his mind, it was hard to ignore.
Blaine clasped Kurt's hands in his own, "I don't know what's going to happen in the future, Kurt, but I do know that no matter what, you will do anything to be the best father that you can be."
"But what if my best isn't enough?" Kurt asked helplessly, "What if my son or daughter are like Annabelle or James? I can't put you through that."
In that moment, Blaine wanted nothing more than to leap up from the floor and shout his feelings to the roof, but Kurt didn't need him yelling happily about the prospect of children in their future, he needed comfort and support.
"How about we ask Finn and Rachel if we can bring Annabelle's stuff over here, we'll set up a temporary nursery and that way we'll still be in out own home and I can be here to help you if you need me to. Think of it as practice. For both of us."
Kurt smiled, but it was only small, "You don't have to do this, Blaine. I can't make you give up your time like that, you've got a college degree to finish."
"You're not making me do anything, I'm helping because I love you and don't want you to be scared."
"Okay," Kurt breathed and pulled Blaine into a hug, "Again, what did I do to deserve you?"
"You saved my life."
A week later on the Monday, Finn and Rachel dropped off all the things Annabelle would need over the next week. After they left, Blaine made Kurt sit down on the floor and then handed Annabelle down to him. He could see that Kurt was conflicted between fear and wanting to prove his fear wrong, so he gave his arm an encouraging squeeze before he went to set up the temporary nursery.
He was in there for five minute when the crying started. In the lounge room, Kurt was trying to calm Annabelle down, but everything he was trying to do wasn't working. Blaine watched for a couple of moments as Kurt tried to coerce her into playing with a toy, he tried taking to her, but it only made it worse.
Blaine walked over and sat down on the floor with them both. He picked up a couple of the toys that were lying around out of Annabelle's reach. He held up a yellow, rubber tiger that squeaked when you squeezed it and a soft, purple dinosaur.
"Hey Bella girl, which one do you want?" Blaine shook the toys to get her attention and she slowly began to calm down enough to point at the tiger. She reached for it and Blaine slowly handed it to her, but didn't let her take it straight away.
"Ta," Blaine said, pulling the toy away slightly when she tried to pull it from his hands, "Can you say ta?"
Annabelle grinned cheekily, "Dah," It wasn't quite right, but Blaine was amused so he handed over the toy and laughed when she immediately discovered it squeaks. He turned to look at Kurt, who was watching the two of them with sad eyes. He reached over and wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulder, pulling him close.
"How did you do that?" Kurt asked, curiously.
Blaine watched Annabelle as she squeaked the toy repetitively, "I gave her options. Charlotte taught me that if you give them options, it teaches them colours and what things are, but it also includes them in social interactions. She trusted me then because I gave her the option to pick her own toy."
'You're good at this," Kurt smiled when Annabelle started laughing at the tiger each time it squeaked.
"You will be too," Blaine kissed Kurt on the cheek.
They turned back to Annabelle who was now watching them with interest, "Hey Bella girl." Annabelle giggled and blew a raspberry on the tiger's stomach, mimicking Blaine kissing Kurt's cheek. They both dissolved into giggles which Annabelle joined in with, knowing she was the cause of it.
Wednesday, Kurt learnt that Annabelle likes the noisy toys and the ones that make the most mess not just in the lounge room, but the whole house. They had closed the door to their bedroom earlier before she discovered it but had allowed her to roam free around the rest of the house. They took turns watching her, even though Blaine said he was only going to help if Kurt needed him, but he loved kids and enjoyed playing her games just as much as she did.
In the span of a few hours, Annabelle was already warming up to Kurt, though there was still a long way to go. She was letting him sit with her on the floor to play, but when she roamed around the house, Kurt knew to leave her be.
Things became tense when Blaine had to lock himself in their room to get some work for his classes done, but Annabelle wasn't taking to Kurt who was trying to clean her, himself and the kitchen after she upended her lunch over them both.
"Shh, Anna please don't cry," Kurt attempted to calm her down.
Blaine came into the bathroom just at the same time Kurt lifted the face washer to wipe the mess off his chest. He had taken his shirt off when he got to the bathroom because Annabelle's food hand gone done his front.
Kurt turned around when he heard Blaine walk in and immediately his eyes welled with tears. "I don't know what to do, every time I touch her, she cries. But when I tried to wipe the food off me, she wailed as if I threw it in her face."
Blaine stepped forward and took the face washer from Kurt's hands. He sat down on the floor in front of the tub and nudged Kurt to join him. "Sometimes sitting down at their level helps."
He leant over the tub's edge and stuck his hand in the water. He picked up a cup that was floating in the water, filled it before tipping it gently over Annabelle's head, making sure to not let it flow over her face. He picked up the face washer and handed it to Kurt.
"Try and give it to her," Blaine said gently.
Kurt took the face washer and tentatively passed it over to Annabelle, "Ta."
"Duh," Annabelle clapped happily and took the face washer. She splashed it in the water, causing enough splashes to cover her whole body as well as Kurt and Blaine's faces. They laughed along with her and Blaine started splashing her back. It soon turned into a war where Kurt and Blaine ended up soaked while Annabelle giggled at their sopping hair.
On Friday night, Blaine cooked dinner and put on extra vegetables for Annabelle. Kurt watched what he did and asked questions while he kept and eye on Annabelle who was peacefully playing with some blocks on the rug, having exhausted herself by trying to run around the house for the last hour. She only crawled if she really had to, but most of the time she was on her feet, usually running away from Kurt but more often than not, she was hiding her toys around the house. A few times, Blaine made sure he was out of sight so Annabelle's only option was Kurt, which seemed to work as each time Blaine came back into the main part of the house, Annabelle was interacting with Kurt. It was only ever for a couple of minutes, but it was progress.
"Alright, Bella girl. Here are your yummy vegetables," Blaine singsonged as he placed a bowl of sweat potato, pumpkin and carrots on the tray of her high chair. She held her arms up to Blaine to pick her up, but he pointed to Kurt who was sitting on the other side of the high chair.
He was surprised when she walked straight over to Kurt and put her arms up, "Kur. Kur."
Kurt's head shot up to look at Blaine in alarm. Blaine smiled brightly and gave Kurt the thumbs up. Kurt turned back to Annabelle, who was still babbling, "Kur, kur, kur," and bent down to lift her up.
"Heyyy Anna," He put her down on her high chair and took the seat beside her. He picked up the spoon that Blaine had put next to her bowl and held it out for her, "Ta."
She kicked her feet around, "Duh."
"There you go, good girl."
They spent most of their day on Sunday lazing around the house. Annabelle had slept longer than she had all week and woke up after seven thirty. After the night that she started saying Kurt's name, Annabelle began to interact with him without Blaine prompting her to. After dinner, both Kurt and Annabelle were exhausted from playing so many games, Blaine found them collapsed together on the couch, sound asleep. He felt bad, but he woke them up so they could go to be and sleep properly.
Kurt went to go to his and Blaine's room while Blaine took Annabelle to bed when she grabbed Kurt's pants and tugged on them. Blaine gave her a hug and kiss, "Goodnight, Bella girl."
Blaine went off to their room to get ready for bed while Kurt carried Annabelle into her room and put her in her portable cot. Once she was settled down in the blankets, he ran his fingers through her hair and watched her eyes start to flutter. Even though their week had started out rocky, they had come along way. As much as Kurt wished he didn't have to admit that Finn had been right, but he was.
The week had gone fast and Kurt suddenly felt sad that it was their last night with Annabelle. He didn't want their week to end, didn't want to go back to being just Kurt and Blaine without her giggles to make them smile, her calling out in the morning to wake them up and especially their wars at bath time. He sighed and bent over to give her a kiss on the forehead.
"Goodnight, princess."
Back in their room, Blaine was just pulling the covers back on their bed, ready for them to get in when Kurt walked into the room. "How was Annabe-"
Kurt grabbed Blaine and kissed him full on the mouth. Blaine kissed back heatedly, wrapping his arm around Kurt's neck. They kissed for a moment longer before Kurt started smiling and it became to awkward to actually kiss, but they kept their lips together. "Marry me," Kurt breathed against Blaine's lips, clutching the front of his shirt.
Blaine pulled back and stared at Kurt, his eyes wide but positively bright. "What?" He asked breathlessly.
Kurt took Blaine's hands in his and looked Blaine directly in the eyes, "Will you marry me?"
Blaine laughed and jumped up and down, "Yes! A thousand times yes!" He wrapped his arms around Kurt's neck and jumped up until his legs were wrapped around Kurt's waist. Kurt laughed with him and squeezed his body closer to his own.
"Umm, so how do you feel about going ring shopping tomorrow, because I kind of don't have one," Kurt said giddily when Blaine dropped back onto the floor.
"How long have you been thinking about this?"
Kurt smiled guiltily, "About five minutes," Blaine's eyes widened a little, "I was in there with Annabelle and after the week the three of us have had, I actually don't want it to end. I want this, Blaine. All of it. I want to be married to you, I want my kids to be ours."
"You really want kids?" Blaine asked.
Kurt never thought he would, but now he didn't need to think about it, "Yes, I want kids.
"I love you, Kurt. So much."
"I love you too."
Thank-you for reading :D
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